Taiwanese battery-swapping provider and two-wheeler manufacturer, Gogoro, on Monday (6 November) announced the signing of an initial agreement with HPCL to establish a network of battery swapping stations across India.

Under this collaboration, Gogoro will be responsible for creating an extensive infrastructure for swapping electric two-wheeler batteries. These battery swapping stations will be deployed at Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited's (HPCL's) numerous retail outlets throughout the nation, reports Money Control.

HPCL, a public sector oil marketing firm, has over 21,000 retail outlets, it added.

"We are announcing a partnership with HPCL to roll out thousands of Gogoro battery swapping stations across its retail outlets throughout the country in the coming years," Horace Luke, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Gogoro said.

The CEO highlighted the current initiation of a substantial electric revolution in India's urban two-wheeler transportation system. It is becoming increasingly clear that battery swapping plays a pivotal role in achieving widespread adoption of EVs. Consequently, the development of a robust battery swapping infrastructure is of utmost importance for this transformation.

He further said that Gogoro is collaborating with the Indian business community, as well as national and local governments, to implement an accessible, open and scalable battery swapping and electric vehicle ecosystem.

Gogoro is well-known for its high-speed electric scooters and their swappable batteries, which eliminate the need to stop and charge the scooter for several hours. The riders simply pull into a battery swap station and roll back out seconds later with new, fully charged batteries.

In Gogoro’s domestic market of Taiwan, thousands of swap stations cover the country and ensure riders are always within a few minutes of a station. The company counts hundreds of thousands of battery swaps each day across those stations.

Earlier this year, the company entered into an agreement with Maharashtra government to invest $1.5 billion in the cities of Pune and Aurangabad over the next eight years to manufacture electric vehicles, smart battery packs, and battery swap stations. 

As part of the eight-year plan, Gogoro will invest more than $500 million for manufacturing vehicles and another $1 billion for smart battery infrastructure deployment which will be supported by financial incentives and reimbursements by Maharashtra.